The present invention relates to a recreational turbulent-waterway having boats guided in a trough extending from an uphill location to a lower terminus. The boats are transported uphill by a special suspension-chain conveyor arrangement. In the case of an earlier waterway installation according to U.S. Pat. No. 783 425 patented on Feb. 28, 1905, there is a danger that the boats may slide down when traversing a steep incline.
The object of the present invention, therefore, is to develop a safe support, for a boat on a chain conveyor, which is suitable and safe for traversing inclines in recreational facilities. This problem is solved by providing each boat under its bottom with at least one profile locking bar having transverse grooves, the protruding elements of which are shaped and sized to mesh with mating projections and indentations of the chain conveyor, the links of which are supported on a sliding surface. The locking bar indentations in cooperation with the links secure the boat with the chain conveyor and assure safe transport uphill. In order to muffle sounds, the locking bar may be made of resilient material.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the locking bar has a gap or is otherwise interrupted at approximately the center of the length of the boat. This gap or interruption prevents the boat from being lifted up in the center, or from swaying as it traverses rough and uneven surfaces, which may occur in case of an imprecise installation of the sliding surface. Two locking bars are preferably arranged in parallel on both sides of the boat for engagement with chain conveyors in parallel to one another. The chains at their upper and lower ends, are guided around guide wheels rotating about horizontal axes. A separate guide may be arranged at the chain conveyor for recreational boats equipped with guide rollers.
According to a further characteristic of the present invention, the sliding surface is provided with a groove for the vertical links of the chain conveyor. The elements protruding beyond the horizontal elements of the links mesh with the transverse grooves of the locking bar. This type of a link chain is not expensive, and in the event it has lengthened appreciably, it may easily be shortened by maintenance workers by removing a link(s). This, eliminates the expensive tightening equipment which is usually necessary in conveyor installations. The link chain of the present invention produces only minimal noise as it slides across the supporting sliding surface of the chain conveyor and, therefore, is environmentally sound, which is, of course of special importance in recreational facilities. Owing to the formlock feature, there is no need for back stops for the boats.
For a better understanding of the invention and fuller appreciation of its attendant advantages reference should be made to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings and explained in detail hereinafter.